Living Green

As water levels run low, the price of gas and other commodities rise, air quality levels decrease, and global climate change occurs, people are becoming more aware of how their daily actions and choices affect the environment. People are beginning to make a conscious effort to decrease their impact on our world’s natural resources. This phenomenon of increasing your awareness and making better choices every day to help the environment is known as “Going Green.”

There are a growing number of environmentally conscious and informed consumers who are making choices based on whether or not products and services are earth-friendly, ethically-made and produced, recyclable, and energy-efficient. You can start going green by applying the rule of the three R’s to your lifestyle: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources also offers a great resource, Sustainable Office Toolkit, to help offices of all types and sizes move toward sustainability through practices such as recycling, energy and water conservation, and “green” building.

Try making just one new change or adding one new habit each week. You’ll be surprised how it adds up after just one year. Here a few ideas:

Consider becoming a shoe-free household. This can help keep your front entries clutter free and indoor air quality cleaner

Wrap your hot water heater with insulation. This can help keep as many as 1,000 pounds of global warming CO2 a year out of the upper atmosphere

Use cold water to wash clothes. This can save up to 80% of your energy used to wash clothes in hot water

Shut down your home computer every night

Install a programmable thermostat that lets you automatically lower the temperature when no one is home or when you are asleep

Install showerheads that deliver water in multiple small streams. They keep water warmer, make rinsing easier and save water

Add an aerator to your faucet to reduce water needed to wash hands or rinse dishes